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by Gustaf Dalman (Author), Paul P. Levertoff (Translator)
It is the examination, as such, of how the thoughts of Jesus, the formulation of which has been transmitted to us in Greek, were expressed in the original idiom, that I consider of importance. But this cannot be separated from the consideration of the conceptions and thoughts which the Jewish sources offer for a comparison as regards subject matter and the relation of the thoughts and words of our Lord to them. Examples of such weighings of language and subject matter in connection with momentous words of our Lord are now presented in this book. At the same time I have attempted to illumine the background, and depict the environment in which our Lord's words were uttered, and have, therefore, thought it necessary to discuss the Jewish synagogal service, the Passover meal, and the Cross. Gustaf Dalman, from the Foreword
Author Biography
Gustaf Dalman (1855-1941) became head of the Institutum Judaicum in 1887. After visiting Palestine in 1899 he became director of the German Evangelisches Institut fur Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes until accepting a position as Professor of Theology at Greifswald. A top scholar, Dalman's magnum opus was the eight-volume work 'Arbeit und Sitte in Palestine', a massive and detailed study of the customs of the Palestinian Arabs. Dalman's many years in Palestine give his work particular authority. After all of these years, his work still has value in illuminating the oriental background of the biblical narratives.
